Vegetable Kofta - No Onion No Garlic

Vegetable kofta curry is a very rich and exotic preparation in North Indian cooking.  A delicacy which is relished by one and all . It is neither too spicy nor bland ,making it a perfect accompaniment for all sorts of Indian Breads and even Jeera Rice or Veg Pulao . 

Vegetable Kofta curry has 2 parts 

1. A rich gravy made using tomatoes and cashew nuts .

2. Koftas are fried dumplings using mixed vegetables and some spices .

The preparation and cooking time is a little elaborate for this particular recipe , but the final product is worth all the time that goes into the making of this Kofta Curry . Amma would make amazing kofta curry . The koftas would just melt in mouth as I would take a bite with my favorite fulka lathered with home made ghee .

Please don't try to rush into making this recipe .prepare it only when you have good amount of time on hand . The tomato gravy needs to be cooked well to make sure all the flavors come out really well. 

There are various ways in which the Kofta can be prepared , but I am going to give you a  very very simple method with easily available ingredients in the pantry. 

Preparation Time - 40 mins

Cooking time- 30 mins

Frying Time - 20 mins

Serves- 2 to 3 

Preparation of Curry 

Ingredients
3 medium sized tomatoes - roughly chopped
8-10 cashews soaked in warm water
1 tsp ginger finely chopped
2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp haldi powder
2 tsp dhaniya powder / coriander powder
Salt
Pinch of sugar
1 green chilli finely chopped .
1/2 tsp jeera

Method

• In a wok/kadai add some 2 tsp of oil and splutter the jeera . 
• Now sauté the tomatoes and green chilli with 1/2 tsp ginger until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy . 
• Blend into a fine paste once the tomatoes cool down.
• In another mixie jar , blend the cashews into a fine paste and keep aside . 
• To prepare the gravy, heat a little 1 tablespoon oil or ghee or butter in a frying pan . 
• Add turmeric , red chilli powder and dhaniya powder and fry it well , do it on low flame
• and donot burn the spices .
• Quickly pour in the tomato paste and mix it well , you will get a bright color . Allow the tomatoes paste to cook well until the oil begins to separate from the gravy . Sprinkle some water , if you feel the gravy has become dry .
• Add the cashew paste and 1/4 cup water ; mix well . Add salt , garam masala and a pinch of sugar and cook till the raw flavor of cashews is lost . The gravy will look bright orangish and the aroma will be wafting through your kitchen . 
• You may adjust some water and spices if you feel it is too dry or spices are less . 
• The gravy is ready when you can see the oil has separated well and is floating on top . 
• For the Kofta curry , the gravy has to be little watery because when we put in the koftas into the gravy , the koftas will absorb the gravy and the gravy will thicken. So adjust water accordingly while cooking .

Preparation of Koftas 

Ingredients 

2 medium sized potatoes boiled  and peeled

1 medium carrot grated 

1 cup grated paneer 

2 to 3 finely chopped green chillies

1/2 tsp red chilli powder 

Salt as needed

Freshly chopped corriander 

1 tsp chat masala

Pinch of kala namak 

Half a lime 

1 tablespoon  maida /APF

1 tablespoon besan /gram flour 

Method

• Grate the boiled potatoes and set aside. 
• In a mixing bowl, add the chopped chillies , salt , coriander, red chilli powder, chat masala,lime juice and kala namak and mix it well such that all the flavors are released nicely. 
• Now , add the grated potatoes, carrots, paneer to the spice mixture along with maida and gram flour and mix it well and knead to a soft ball.
• No need to add any water while kneading . The dough should not be sticky or watery..if it is a little watery add some rice flour or corn flour to absorb the moisture. 
• Grease your palm and make small balls and refrigerate these balls for about 20 mins. 
• Fry them on medium heat until they turn golden brown and crisp. 
• Alternatively, you can fry them in the appe pan /paniyaram pan/aebelskeiwer pan .
• Drain in an absorbent paper and keep aside .

Serving the Kofta Curry 

In a bowl, pour the warm curry and add 2 to 3 koftas to the gravy and pour some gravy on top of it and serve hot with naan , roti , jeera rice or pulao. 

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